Amadeus forecasts 2010 rebound
November 13, 2009 by Duangrudee Somboonruangsri
Filed under News, Technology
Amadeus Asia Pacific forecasts travel in the Asia Pacific region will recover next year and reach the performance achieved in 2007.
The global distribution system claims there are signs of resilience in the market, evident in the GDS’s data year-to-date.
Reporting on regional trends, Asia Pacific president, David Brett, said Amadeus grew its market share of travel agency airline bookings in Asia Pacific to 33% for year-to-date 2009. The GDS counts the number of flight sectors booked, rather than fares, or roundtrip journeys.
He also claimed Amadeus extended its lead in online bookings, achieving an 18.8% growth year-to-date to capture a 51% market share of all online travel agency bookings in the region in September 2009.
The primary drivers of this market share growth were gains in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia and Malaysia. During 2009, Amadeus has increased its head count in Asia Pacific by 15% to 1,400 employees, and opened two new offices – one in Samui, Thailand and another in Yangon, Myanmar.
“The travel industry reacts quickly to change. Recovery in Thailand will depend on stability of the country. If there is no stability, travel will not come back quickly,” he said commenting on local factors impacting on travel.
The powers to be at Amadeus Asia Pacific are always blowing the trumpet.
They boast how many employees they have it wont be long before we read
they are down sizing their employee’s because they cannot compete in the
market place.
Growing market share of swiftly declining travel agency bookings is hardly a thing to be boasting about. The fact that online share increased that much less is what the real issue is about. Thailand has no reliable source of arrivals figures, so don’t hold your breath. Also, the claim that the “travel industry reacts quickly to change” is telling, because it is an admission that the industry is always behind the curve and is not proactive enough to change before it is forced to. Industry leaders such as this show zero vision and live on spin and reactivity. Be cautious with forecasts, because this little gimmick called the internet has a habit of showing soothsayers to be snake oil salesmen.